Reviews for any metal and rock music

Anaal Nathrakh – The Whole of the Law

You know, there are just some bands that refuse to hold anything back. I mean that in the very literal sense as well as every sense because they just wish to spread the terrible word of the fiery brimstone that they produce in each track. Anaal Nathrakh is easily one of those bands whose sole purpose is to spread a chaotic reign of terror, and “The Whole of the Law” does just that.

Just two things alone gave me the feeling that this album was going to be akin to the soundtrack of hell itself: the pretty brutal, yet pretty damn conservative, cover art along with the nasty font of the band name. Now, I can get into some pretty intense shit because what metal head who dives head first into every genre that happens to come along can’t tolerate a little touch of the depths of hell every now and then? The eleven malevolent pieces of “The Whole of the Law” are nothing to scoff at, but there’s just one thing that really stops me from truly enjoying the record: the fact that there is no sort of formation or any conformity outside of having a chorus. That can be an interesting thing and pulled off quite nicely, but there’s just something about how Anaal Nathrakh decided to approach their bloody style. I personally couldn’t agree with it, but no matter how many times I listened to the record and disagreed with it, I always admired how “The Whole of the Law” managed to make the best out of a pretty basic formula of loud and vicious all the time.

While people like me won’t be able to get into such malicious material, I know plenty will find Anaal Nathrakh to have created one of the most intriguing albums of year, and that makes me feel pretty contempt even though I’m not a big fan of “The Whole of the Law”. Maybe Anaal Nathrakh will deliver something different in the future, but we’ll just have to wait.